High Falls State Park

Dates: 04/22/2012 - 04/24/2012
Campground: High Falls State Park- Jackson, GA - Site 112
Pictures: http://s1217.photobucket.com/user/squirellman/library/High%20Falls%20State%20Park

- Base Camp (site details)With so many sites it would be expected that each site would be small, not in this case. The campground itself is very large with multiple loops. Site 112 is across the street from the lake. There are also very nice sites directly on the lake, but these are very popular. This State Park is not what you would expect to find a few miles south of Atlanta, but after stopping here on our way back from a Florida beach we put it on our list of places to see. A few years later we attended a wedding at the park giving us an opportunity to explore more thoroughly. The sites here do have water and electrical hook ups which normally attracts very large campers, but even with the large sites the parking areas are not designed for large vehicles of any kind. This limits the large RVs to sites further from the lake. This may be a good time to also mention that there are two actual campgrounds here. The larger campground with much more shade is on the riverside of the park. The two sides are divided by a busy highway that passes over the river just below the dam. I would recommend picking the side that fits your needs better. I will get into attractions later, but there are two pretty distinct sides of the park. The foliage in the lake area is mostly the pine you would expect to see in central Georgia. The riverside of the park has much thicker forests with large deciduous trees.

- Campground rules (Nazi's to Trashy)
Like many Georgia State Parks this campground is in a good medium of regulation. There are rules to protect the safety of the tenants, but still allow recreation. You can bring your own private boat on the lake, fish within the park, and have dogs. The only rule that seems restrict activities is the fence surrounding the tailwater area of the dam. There are many large flat rocks that are begging to be hopped and explored. I would understand the lack of access if the dam was hydroelectric with large intermittent water releases, or a flash flood prone high elevation lake... but this is a small over spill dam with very low tailwater flow.

- The hood (what kind of people camp here)
With such a prime location close to Atlanta and Macon this park is often full of families. There were a few groups of guys camping that were visiting to fish in High Falls Lake, but for the most part there were numerous groups of kids playing and parents lounging. With great early spring weather in central Georgia tents abound, but I can imagine that in the heat of the summer the park will feature more RVs with air conditioners running all day.

- Sawyer Factor (what will you kids do)
One reason I love State Parks is the wide demographic they are built to include. In this case there is a decent playground and large flat areas to play. The hiking trails have fences to help keep kids on the trails and away from the drop offs. The trails to the waterfall area are also quite easy with a kid in tote.

- Bathhouses
I have to take part of this section to praise the campground host. The hosts in these parks often cleans the bathrooms, and this one went above and beyond. The bathrooms were clean and he even put silk flowers in the sink area for a home like touch. Beyond that bathrooms the host was very nice driving around on his golf cart delivering firewood, ice, and answering any questions with his little dog in tow. Back to the bathhouses... they are for the most part a little aged, but very clean and well kept.

- No car attractions
As you can tell by reading my other entries, we much prefer to put Sawyer in his baby hiking backpack and hit the trail rather than getting in and out of a car over and over. In this case we were able to do most of what the park had to offer without ever starting the truck. This included the playground, pavilion area, Dam area, Falls Area, River trail, and although it required a walk off the trail we were able to even walk to the wedding at the park conference facility.

- Area attractions
Although the park is close enough to Atlanta to take a drive to Stone Mountain, or any Atlanta area attraction, the immediate area has very little in the way of attractions. The park sales firewood and ice, and if you find yourself a meal short there is a small restaurant that stayed busy the whole time we were there approximately 1 mile from the park entrance.

- Fees
Like many state parks the fees are minimal. The camp site was $20/night and there is a one time $5 parking fee. Ice and wood were priced at a market average which is great considering the lack of area options.

- Ownership
The park is owned in its entirety by The State of Georgia DNR. Website: http://www.gastateparks.org/HighFalls?c=4347203&eventid=203611&p=31

- Accommodation/reservations
Like all other Georgia state parks campsites can be reserved months in advance. The reservation does not guarantee a specific site, but rather that you will have a site upon arrival... the earlier you arrive the better site you will likely receive. Although we are avid tent campers its also worth mentioning that the park has recently added yurts. We have never stayed in a yurt, but these looked very nice... almost cabin like.

Cherokee Dam

Dates: 04/14/2012 - 04/16/2012
Campground: Cherokee Dam, Jefferson City, TN - Site 31

- Base Camp (size of site, foliage, privacy, etc...) This post may come with some positive bias as I grew up camping here as a kid. At only around 45 minutes away, it was a great weekend getaway. The sites have shrunk over the years as TVA added water and electricity hooks ups and more sites, but overall the sites are some of the largest on Cherokee lake. We had sufficient room for a tent, pop up, 2 cars, and a boat. The foliage is lacking a bit as many trees have been cut down to allow for easier camper access. The remaining trees are mostly pine and red cedar trees. Something to keep in mind when setting up your tent. The evergreen roots are soft, if you have to hammer a stake in, there is a chance you won't be able to get it back out. This was learned by experience. If you are a tent camper like myself, there are a handful of sites that simply will not accommodate a tent... unless you like sleeping somewhat inverted. Privacy is somewhat limited, but with a huge boat ramp nearby people watching here is great. You can watch everything from a tournament blast off in the morning to those poor first time boat owners who take an hour to launch. One more thing... you are not supposed to move firewood from county to county, but you will be hard pressed to gather enough wood here to make a smore. Be sure to stop somewhere on the way in to buy a few bundles.

- Campground rules (Nazi's to Trashy)
The rules here are limited, but enforced by the campground host. Mr. Bales and his family have been camping here for years, and he is a little less than friendly to us tent campers at times. I will get to this a bit more in the "Accommodations/Reservations" section, but this campground is in serious need of rule reform regarding long term campers.

- The hood (what kind of people camp here)
As I have eluded to, this campground has become very much an RV Park. You can expect few children and many people sitting in lawn chairs watching the sun rise over the lake. Often these tenants also have small well behaved dogs, so nothing to worry about safety wise.

- Sawyer Factor (what will your kids do)
The campground itself is lacking in kid friendly activities. There is plenty of room to walk and the beach area is great to swim at during the warm months. With a 10-15 minute walk however you can be in the Cherokee Dam day use area with a play ground. Expect it to be very busy on a summer Saturday however.

- Bathhouses
The bathouses here have been unchanged for years. They stay clean for the most part as most of the campers have bathrooms in their campers. They are cleaned daily, but bring your own hand soap and hand towels as neither will be there for you.

- No car attractions
In comparison to most TVA campgrounds this one has a reasonable amount of activities that don't require getting in the car. From your campsite you can walk on side walks nearly across the dam, a variety of trails, and even to the tail water area of the dam. The area provides a great bicycling route for those who prefer flat land riding. From the campground to the gate approximately halfway across the dam you can easily ride 2 miles without any hills.

- Area attractions
In this area the lake... is the attraction. This will become obvious on a summer Saturday. Recently the Holston River below Cherokee Dam has become a popular trout fishery. Particularly in the Buffalo Springs Wildlife Management Area. In general camping here will have you on this schedule: Wake up to see sunrise over the lake from your campsite, fish, eat breakfast, take a walk, fish, eat lunch, ride bicycles, fish the tailwater area, eat dinner, walk to see sunset from the dam, make a campfire, and watch fisherman navigate the cove in the dark. (new boat lighting has them looking more like spaceships at night)

- Fees
Fees here are $20/night. There are no other fees at the campground currently.

- Ownership
TVA owns the campground and surrounding land. Here is the TVA information, I recommend using this website to check the Dam release schedule to plan any activities involving the tailwater area.

- Accommodation/reservations.
Ok, this part of the post is where the negativity will not be held back. The campground does not accept reservations and there are limited number of sites that fall under the TVA 14 day rule. The campground opens in April and the large RVs show up soon after. None of the campers would tell me exactly how they keep their campers on the site all season, but judging by the kids play tents behind their huge campers... here is my hypothesis. Week 1-2 Honestly set up your camper under your name, Week 2-4 Register the tent under your name, Week 4-6 Register your camper in your wife's name, Week 6-8 Start over again. This system has effectively eliminated the weekend warrior such as myself from this public land. Many have complained, but TVA acknowledges they are an energy company not a hospitality company. I would love to see the campground leased to tent friendly ownership.

I have really fallen behind on writing... those reading with a kid will understand! I checked my analytics and am very surprised by the traffic. Hope to gather more audience!

Frozen Head State Park

Trying to catch my blog up to date! We camped at Frozen Head State Park in Wartburg 03/16/2012. We have camped/hiked at Frozen Head in the past and is where we had our engagement pictures taken. Now for the review!

Check out other pics from the trip here!

Base Camp: The sites here are VERY spacious. I normally despise all caps, but sites on the outer loop are possibly some of the largest sites I have ever seen. The park calls the front country camping area "Big Cove", and it lives up to its name. Most of the sites are reasonably flat with large enough driveways for multiple vehicles and a camper. All sites have well drained tent boxes and picnic table areas with an abundance of tree cover. We prefer sites 1-5 as they are on the water and on the outer loop. The only detractor to these sites is the drop off behind the campsite to the water. An adult can walk up it, but a child could roll down quite a ways by accident. There is no electricity or water hook ups at the campsites, but there are numerous community water spigots throughout the campground.

Campground Rules: The only "strict" rule at Frozen Head is the closing time of the park. The park closes to outside guest AT DARK. This is figurative in most parks, but they actually post sunset times for the entire 365 calendar year. These are also the times the gates will close. The Wartburg nightlife is not that alluring, so being by your campfire by 7:36p EST should not be difficult. The lack of petty rules has to be one of Tennessee State Parks strongest assets. Our dog can hang out on her leash, and we can walk her on any trail, road, path, etc...

The Hood: If you front country camp at all you will notice that electricity is a crucial factor for RVs. Since we pop up or tent camp the lack of electricity does not bother us. This also leads to a great deal of other tents and pop ups. There were a handful of travel trailers in the park, but most everyone was tent camping. Also, when you see tents, you often see young families. This was definitely the case at Frozen Head where the average camper was still ok with sleeping on the ground or air mattress.

Sawyer Factor: The Tennessee State Park system seems to view campers as their preferred customers. Frozen Head is no exception. The playground is a stones throw from the camping area complete with easy creek access for the warm days. The sites themselves are plenty spacious enough to keep from waking the neighbors if your little one is having a rough night, and the trails in the lower elevations of the park are easily walkable with children. The Flat Fork trail is also semi stroller friendly with a mainly gravel path.

Woof: I mention a little about the dog policy in the rules section, but this is a very dog friendly park. Tennessee State Parks now limits each site to 2 dogs, but they do allow dogs on all trails so long they are on a leash. The posted limit is 6', but the rangers didn't say anything about Laurel being on a 20' lead at the campsite. The large sites are great for our husky as she likes to play the "how many trees can I wrap my lead around" game.

Bath Facilities: My family and I would argue that the Frozen Head bath facilities are the nicest around. They are fairly modern, but most of all are VERY clean and well kept. Unlike TVA and many private campgrounds there is soap in the bathroom with a hand dryer. The showers have plenty of hot water and the lighting is really good for a rustic bath house in the woods. Its evident that the guy with the worst job in the park takes pride in his work!

No Car Attractions: Frozen Head is known for its rough terrain. A bird walk to history tells that James Earl Ray while being held at Brushy Mountain State Prison once escaped and made his way in to the Flat Fork Gorge of Frozen Head Mountain. He ran for well over a day before collapsing in exhaustion. He later was found what he thought were miles into the forest... he was 2 miles away. This also greatly limits the roads in the Park. From the campground there are numerous trails that lead to various places. I strongly recommend a map from the welcome center. To be quick however from the campground you can walk to the play ground in 5-7 mins, amphitheater 5-7 minutes, picnic area 6-8 mins, flat fork walking trail 5-7 mins, Panther Branch Trail head 10-15 mins, Emory Branch Falls 30-45 mins, Debord Falls 1h-1.5h. It should be noted that walking to the Panther Branch Trail head will require walking on the road. Most drivers are very considerate and the speed limit is very low. I have recommended the flat fork walking trail be extended to the trail head for safety.

Area Attractions: Immediately after entering the camping area you will likely see canoes and kayaks and wonder how they are running such a shallow creek. Well, they aren't. A few miles down the road is the Obed National Scenic River. The Obed is a awesome gorge with various rapids and unspoiled river, however Frozen Head is the closest campground. The Cumberland Mountains although lower than the Smokies have some large water ways that after a rain can become torrents. One example is Potter Falls just outside downtown Wartburg. There are 4 waterfalls on a small trail. These are low falls, but have massive amounts of water. After some rainfall this is a must see. Here is how to get there.

Wartburg and the surround area is very small, but if you wish for more activities Oak Ridge is the History/Science headquarters of Tennessee.

Fees: Since there is no electricity camping here is relatively cheap at $13/ night. There are no other fees unless you wish to purchase items from the welcome center.

Ownership: As mentioned a few times previously Frozen Head is owned by Tennessee State Parks.
Website: http://www.tn.gov/environment/parks/FrozenHead/
Address: 964 Flat Fork Road; Wartburg, TN
Phone: 423-346-3318

Accommodations/Reservations: At this time there are no available reservations for the standard front country campsites, but a group site can be reserved by calling the park. The regulations for the group sites are listed on the website, but in a nutshell you need at least 8 people. Besides camping there are no other overnight accommodations in the park.

If you have made it this far, Thank you for reading! I hope this has been a help to your trip planning. Please feel free to reach out to me with any additional questions. Thanks again!

Norris Dam State Park

Dates: 02/18/2012 - 02/19/2012

Campground: Norris Dam, East Area
Site # 3



Photos:

https://plus.google.com/?gpcaz=da0767ad&hl=en&wwc=1#photos/111516298441787249573/albums/5752178993866804401

- Base Camp (size of site, foliage, privacy, etc...)
In future blogs I will adding actual dimensions of the campsites, but for now I will give estimates. The sites on the outer loop have no sites behind them. Although the sites themselves are not vastly large the area behind the sites are wooded with very little undergrowth allowing for a sense of privacy. Site #1 and 3 are on the ends of the lower loop and seemed to have the largest areas. Putting a tent up at this site would have been possible, but there were better tent areas at sites 10 -12. The fire ring was a steel ring with cooking grate attached. The timbers around the site were in decent condition and there were no erosion issues. The campground as a whole appears to drain well, so if you get caught in a storm there shouldn't be too much mud. The sites have electric and water hook ups with 30 amp breakers. We rarely use electricity but the extra 110v plug on the power pole is great to have if you have for lights. At this stage in Sawyer's life we need to warm up baby food in the tiny microwave that we take, so electricity is great to have. The picnic tables are concrete so they will hold water and make your pants wet long after rain. At site 3 one of the benches was being held up by a block. Not the nicest or largest tables, but they are sturdy. One negative about the sites is the proximity of the table to your car parking area/road. I prefer the table to be off the road a ways, but beggars can't be choosy in Feb.

- Campground rules/personnel (Nazi's to Trashy):
Being a TN state park the campground is very well maintained. There was little to no trash on the ground, and the rangers were nothing short of accommodating. We did not arrive until after dark, stressed a little as it was freezing and Sawyer's first night camping... the ranger came to our campsite and checked us in. Was a great help, and she was really really friendly even with our late arrival. There were no glaring annoying rules to abide by and check out wasn't until 1p.

- The hood (what kind of people camp here)
Winter camping often draws what I refer to as a "specialty crowd". They have a reason to be there. In this case there were a few others camping and it was clear they were there to catch trout. Having gravel, smaller parking areas, no full hookups, no cable, no wifi... the RV crowd is likely at one of the other "RV Parks" on the lake. The presence of a bathhouse, numerous activities, no reservations, and low prices means you will likely find local young families with tents, pop ups, or small campers.

- Sawyer Factor (what will you kids do)
The east area campground is a short walk to the east area picnic area which is fully equipped with a large playground with bathrooms nearby. There is also a small museum, kids shows/activities hosted by rangers, hikes hosted by rangers, and one of our favorites is the very flat graveled river trail that is stroller friendly.

-Woof: (Take the dog?)
The particular site we were at had a very large area for Laurel to explore while on her lead. Of course there were plenty of trees for her to get wrapped around, but even with a 30' lead she could not reach other campsites. All the trails are dog friendly, but please keep your dog on a leash! I mentioned in the intro our dog is a husky, so the cool river water is great for her. We have camped many places where there are really tight restrictions on dogs... this is all because someone was not responsible and we all pay. PLEASE keep your dog on a leash and pick up after them so we can keep the parks dog friendly!

- Bathhouses:
Bath Facilities: 2 full bath houses open 3 seasons. Dates are available on website.

- No car attractions: Within walking distance of both campgrounds is an extensive trail network. Virtually all trails lead to the lake, river, or overlook of the Dam. If your whole crew likes hiking you could potentially explore the entire park without starting your car. The park is also full of history. The Dam itself was the first TVA project and helped power Oak Ridge... I'll let you visit the TVA visitor center or read up on wikipedia as the park is a living museum of the CCC, TVA, and TN State Parks. Some must sees: The dam is really hard to miss, The new wier dam is a TVA tail water project that keeps water flowing during dry periods and makes for a really cool looking rapid of sorts, and the orchards are beautiful!

- Area attractions
If you do decide to drive and explore a little further, you are only 6 miles from the Museum of Appalachia, a 20 min drive to Big Ridge State Park, 30 mins from Downtown Knoxville, or 30 minutes to Cove Lake State Park. The park is also home to a full functioning Marina with covered and non covered slips. A very nice boat ramp is next to the Marina as well. The park is also home to a pool, rec center, and various other activities. We generally swim in the lake/river, but the pool is a nice alternative during the summer.

- Fees:
I believe I previously mentioned the low cost. Its $17/night.

- Ownership:
TN State Parks
Phone: 865-426-7461
Website: http://www.tn.gov/environment/parks/NorrisDam/

- Accommodation/reservations: First come first serve. I have confirmed with TN State parks that a reservations system is coming soon. We will throw a huge party when it goes live!

Intro: Why Dirty Chacos

I'm Nathan Nelson of Knoxville, TN. I grew up camping with my parents, fell in love with my wife (April Nelson) camping, our dog's (Laurel the Husky) favorite outing is to a campground, Our little boy's favorite weekends are camping... you get the idea.

The reason for the name: I tend to take 2 pairs of shoes on our trips. My chacos and running shoes. Most of the time I'm in my chacos, and if they aren't dirty we probably didn't have fun!

The reason for all this effort is the lack of good information on front country camping for families. We often find ourselves comparing all the campgrounds we have visited and turning down visiting others based on various factors.

Camping has MANY definitions. Whatever your definition of camping is, GO CAMP! We have an awesome house perched on a ridge in the woods next to a wildlife preserve next to 30+ miles of trails. Many of my blog posts will be by a citronella candle on the deck listening to the birds. I am very thankful for all I have been blessed with, but when you are home with all the worlds distractions truly relaxing is very difficult. So if its an RV that floats your boat or if you backpack 10 miles into the wilderness I will try to address a little of it all.

Camping, my definition: Pop up or tent set up with at least 30' to the next site, Laurel on her lead making sad attempts to bury her bone, hammocks hanging, fire smoldering with chairs around it, clothes line up with little Sawyer clothes, and most importantly almost nothing to do or worry about.

In future entries I will touch a little on our personal adventures, but will try to focus on these areas:

- Base Camp (size of site)
- Campground rules (Nazi's to Trashy)
- The hood (what kind of people camp here)
- Sawyer Factor (what will you kids do)
- Bathhouses
- No car attractions
- Area attractions
- Fees
- Ownership
- Accommodation/reservations.

Please feel free to suggest more info/categories.

Thanks for reading! Stay Classy... world.